He has continued racking up a record number of 22-metre throws – which, at last count, now stands at 134 – and his record-breaking throw at the US Trials saw him win the competition by more than a metre from world champion Joe Kovacs. He has been undefeated since the 2019 World Championships – where he missed the gold medal by one centimetre – and has broken the world record indoors and outdoors with marks of 22.82m and 23.37m. When he arrives in Tokyo for the Olympic Games, US shot putter Ryan Crouser will be the biggest gold medal favourite of any athletics discipline. Although he hasn’t yet managed to beat world champion Daniel Stahl, he has come close – including at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin last year where just one centimetre separated the pair.Īlready this year, Ceh has improved his national record to 69.52m and, at the time of publication, is undefeated. He soon earned invitations to compete at top-level meetings and was unfazed by the opposition, often placing in the top three. His victory at the 2019 European U23 Championships had put him on the radar as a future star of the event, but it took him less than a year to start to live up to that promise, throwing a national record of 68.75m at the age of 21.
SHOTPUT AND DISCUS FULL
The consistency of her recent performances in Eugene – where she threw 70.01m in the qualifying round, followed by 69.45m, 69.92m plus two more 68m throws in the final – suggests she’s capable of producing big marks anywhere, whatever the stage.ĭespite the pandemic, the 22-year-old Slovenian was still able to enjoy a full season in 2020 with competitions spanning from March to September. She has consistently thrown beyond 65 metres this year and has been competitive on the international stage, producing the top mark at the recent Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha where she faced world champion Yaime Perez and Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic.
Since finishing seventh at the 2019 World Championships, the 2014 world U20 silver medallist has stepped up a notch. With her recent 70.01m performance at the US Trials in Eugene, dancer-turned-discus-thrower Valarie Allman has proved that her national record throw of 70.15m set last year was no fluke. Replicating those same performances on a bigger stage is another. Producing a big mark at a small meet is one thing. Earlier this year the four-time world champion threw 19.65m – her best throw since August 2016 – and will surely be a contender once she steps into the circle in Tokyo. The postponement of the Olympic Games may have worked in Adams’ favour as it has given her extra time to regain her best form. Adams returned to action in 2018 and earned silver at the Commonwealth Games, but then sat out the 2019 season after giving birth to her second child, a son named Kepalili, in March that year. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kimoana, in October 2017. The shot put legend from New Zealand has featured on the podium at the past three Olympic Games, but much has changed since Adams took silver in Rio in 2016. Now it’s the turn of the shot put and discus. So far we have looked at the sprints, middle-distance, long distance, hurdles and steeplechase, vertical jumps and horizontal jumps. But they all have fascinating stories that will be worth following as the Games draw ever closer.Įvery 10 days we’re profiling 10 new athletes, each time focusing on a different area of the sport. Some are known athletics stars, some are gold medal favourites, others will be outsiders.
SHOTPUT AND DISCUS SERIES
As the countdown to the Tokyo Olympics continues, we add to our series highlighting 100 ones to watch in the lead-up to the Games.
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